21 February 2018

I have absolutely no idea why a cycle rack has been installed in the grounds of the block of flats on the corner of Richmond Road and Dukes Avenue and I have not yet seen them in use. Cycle racks are a good thing, it is just putting them in the middle of the garden that I do not understand. They do not strike me of being particularly safe and there is no cover either.

19 February 2018

Friends of Ham Lands (FoHL) have started working in Ham Lands to improve wildlife habitats, particularly for butterflies, on the morning of the second Saturday of each month. If you walk along one of the main paths through Ham Lands South you will see piles of cut vegetation as a sign that work has been done in that area.

In February they worked in this section clearing the encroaching scrub to protect the grassland. They also did some work on the path leading out of the middle of the picture both to make it more passable and also to clear more scrub from the grass verges.

This was not meant to be a little pick but the cans and bottles in the areas that they were working in were removed. It was a significant collection from quite a small area. Ham Lands is much better without it.

15 February 2018

I walk along Lock Road regularly, apart from anything else it is on one of my routes to work, and had not thought that there was anything wrong with the pavement but other people thought differently and the paving stones are being replaced in a long section of the road.

The new paving stones do look good and they do seem to have made a good job of laying them flat and with no gaps between them.

13 February 2018

I have been moaning for years about the way that vegetation has been allowed to encroach significantly on to the main path through Royal Park Gate, linking Ham to the river, and have even done some minor trimming myself, so it was with surprise and pleasure that I saw that some serious work had been done.

A close look shows that some of the branches that were cut were quite substantial, some a couple of centimetres in diameter, so this was far more than just a trim.

Given that so much work was done it seems a little churlish to be critical, but I shall. The vegetation has only been cut back to the edge of the path so as soon as it grows at all it will encroach the path again and the tall hedge has not even been cut back all the way to the edge.

11 February 2018

I hope that this sign, on the pavement in front of the pharmacy on Ham Parade, has only just appeared as I have only just noticed it. The Bistro is immediately to the left and its boundary somewhat obscures the sign, particularly when walking north.

Update: I have since seen one of these adverts outside of John Lewis in Kingston (by the Thames Street junction) so it may be a case of fly advertising rather than anything to do with the pharmacy.

9 February 2018

I was walking along Lock Road on the way to work and glancing up Lawrence Road I saw this crane at work and had to take a closer look. I do not know what its payload was, nor do I care, it was the machine itself that I wanted to capture.

7 February 2018

I like the passageway next to Reston Lodge and I usually make an excuse to walk down there when I am in Petersham. On this occasion the new earth wire along the base of the wall demanded my attention with its newness. I presume that it will become grubby very soon and it will forget that it was even new but luckily I have the evidence that it was.